About me.....
I was born in Ventura, California in October of 1980 to teenage parents. I was raised in Montana by my grandparents. My family including my grandmother, cousins and an uncle were such inspiration when it came to photography (and life in general) We would spend every summer in Yellowstone Park, Jackson Hole Wyoming, and Glacier Park. We would travel to California, Idaho, Washington, Oregon, other beautiful states. The tools of the trade were an old Cannon and about 30 rolls of 35mm film, and pure nature.
My mother bought me a purple 110 camera when I was about 11 years old and we were inseperable! I have got probably over a thousand photographs from just 2 weeks of life. I have always loved photography and art, but thru high school it fell by the wayside as I played for hours each night on my drum kit. I have very few photos for the years between ages 13 and 16.
Then I went to Seattle for the first time! And again, I bought myself a cheap little 35mm camera and began shooting. I have photographs of landscapes, architecture, and the regular toursist photos. I also found myself trying to capture the spirit of Seattle by taking photos of random residents, some all too eager people with guitars, and cups, waiting for handouts. And then I saw the starving artist and thought... Thats who I want to become!
I then got married, moved to Iowa, and started a family. When my beautiful daughter, Ashlyn Paige, was born, I got a 4mp gateway cheapy camera with my computer. And I just flourished! Taking about 700 photos a day, I filled memory card after memory card. I got an account on DeviantART and met some people with the same interests. I recived feed back, critisism, compliments, and all out praise. Needless to say it drove me to keep improving and become better at the art I love so dearly.
Since then, life has taken awkward turns and bends. I got divorced, moved more thimes in 1 year then I had my entire life, and altho I slowed on my photography, my camera is always tucked somewhere safe, and always in my heart.
I look at everything from sticky notes to giant buildings and see then in a frame in my mind. I see photographs and hear the sounds that are depicted. I feel the emotions from a smile, tear, or even something as simple as someone walking away. I am a walking camera, recording all that I see and trying so hard to remember every small detail.
I hope that you can read this and be objective. Understand that life is a process and living is an art form. I am determined to make this my career. I am motivated to photograph and become sucessful at it. I will provide for my family, and now especially since I have my second little girl, Avery Quinn, I promise to take note of every moment that may someday turn into a memory that would have otherwise been forgotten. I devote my life to others. So with that I dedicate all my work, and my future sucess to my daughters.
Ashlyn and Avery, you are my heart and my soul. Thank you for inspiring me and keeping me grounded.